Box opener



Oct. 31, 1967 v J. F. SCHAFERS 3,349,938

BOX OPENER Filed July 26, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR JOSEF F. SCHAFERS Ot. 31, 1967 J. F. scHAFERs BOX OPENER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 26, 1965 United States Patent 3,349,938 BOX OPENER Josef F. Schafers, 2667 15th Ave., San Francisco, Calif. 94127 Filed July 26, 1965, Ser. No. 474,624 6 Claims. (Cl. 217-57) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device in the form of an angle bar for attachment to r the lid of a box, with one flange thereof overlying the lid and the other positioned adjacent the front edge of of the lid. The latter flange has an end edge bent out of its plane to form a sharp edge against which a protective envelope around the box may be broken. The other flange has a projecting end portion through which the nail is driven that secures the lid to the front wall of the box. By virtue of this projecting flange portion it is possible to use the angle bar as a prying lever against the lid of the box for withdrawing the nail. A string may be secured to the angle bar and a suitable point of the box so that the envelope may be torn lengthwise, once it has been broken, with the angle bar serving as a handle.

The present invention relates to boxes whose lids are held closed by a nail that is driven through the lid into a wall of the box. More particularly, the present invention relates to boxes, such as cigar boxes whose lids are additionally held in closed position by seals, such as tax stamps or quality stamps that extend over and are glued onto the outer surfaces of the lid and a wall of the box. Boxes of this type are frequently encased in a protective cover sheet material, such as the transparent plastic sheet material known as cellophane. To open such boxes usually requires the aid of a tool such as knife to cut the plastic cover and the seals, and to pry the nail from the front wall of the box. All of this is cumbersome and often inconvenient and frequently entails the danger of damaging the articles contained in the box. true for cigar boxes.

It is an object of my invention to provide a device that makes it easy to open the lids of boxes of the type described.

More particularly, it is an object of my invention to provide a box opening device that forms part of the box, without significantly changing its external contour or compass.

Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to provide a device of the type referred to, that aids in breaking a cellophane cover, in cutting the cover and any seals that may be provided and in drawing the nail from the wall of the box.

These and other objects of my invention will be apparent from the following description of the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment thereof and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an enlarged perspective of the box opening device of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective of a closed cigar box provided with the box opening device of the invention and enveloped in a cover of cellophane, and

FIGURES 3 and 4 are perspectives of the cigar box similar to FIGURE 2, illustrating consecutive stages of the manipulations entailed in opening the box wtih the aid of the device of the invention.

The device if the invention comprises a length of an angle bar of L-shaped cross-sectional contour. In the particular embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3, said bar is applied to the lid 12 of This is especially a cigar box 14 underneath the plastic cover 15 which envelops the box. As shown in FIGURES 2 and 3 the bar 10 is applied to the lid 12 along the front edge 16 thereof in such a manner that one of its flanges, i.e. flange 18 is disposed in a vertical plane and lies adjacent said front edge while the other horizontally disposed flange 20 is engaged over the top surface of the lid. A short distance from the left end edge 21 of the horizontal flange 20 of the bar 10, said flange is provided with an aperture 22 and through said aperture a thin nail 24 is driven through the lid of the box into the front wall 26 thereof to hold the lid in closed condition. The left end portion of the vertically disposed flange 18 of the bar is cut away to a point a limited distance to the right of the aperture 12 in the upper flange 20. This distance should be at least equal to the thickness of the front wall 26 of the box. Hence during the box opening manipulations the angle bar may be swivelled on the nail 24 into a position wherein it is disposed at right angles to the front edge of lid 12 and projects outwardly therefrom through the torn cellophane cover (FIGURE 3), without being obstructed from such rotation by engagement of the end edge 28 of its vertical flange with the front edge of the lid and/or the outer surface of the front wall of the box.

The opposite end of the vertical flange 18 of the angle bar 10 projects slightly beyond the horizontal flange 20 of said bar and is bent outwardly away from the front edge of the lid and its end edge 30 may be sharpened so as to form an outwardly directed cutting or tearing edge that bears against the plastic envelope 15. Suitably attached to the projecting left end of the horizontal flange of the angle bar 10 near the end edge 21 thereof is a thin wire or cord 32. Said cord or wire runs underneath the cellophane cover 15, but above any seal or stamp that may be provided, such as the seal indicated at 33, to the left side edge 34 of the lid where it is trained around said left side edge. From there it passes underneath the lid through the interior of the box all the way to the opposite side edge 35 of the lid where it is suitably secured to the adjacent side wall 36 of the box. For this purpose the side wall may be provided with an aperture through which the end of the cord or wire is looped as shown at 38. Alternatively, the end of the wire or cord may emerge between the right side edge of the lid and the right side wall of the box and may suitably be secured to the outer surface of the right side wall, such as by means of an adhesive tape.

When a cigar box encased in a cellophane envelope 15 and with seals 33 glued over its lid and front wall is provided with the device of the invention, it is easy for anybody to open the box and there is no need to employ the aid of a knife or other tool. The edge 30 presented by the right end ofthe vertically disposed flange 18' of the angle bar 10 makes it possible to break the cellophane cover with a finger nail or a thumb nail. Thereupon, one turns the bar 10 upon nail 24 into the position shown in FIGURE 3 wherein said bar is disposed at right angles to the front wall of the box and projects through the hole torn in the cellophane cover 15'. Then one grips the outwardly projecting end of the bar fully and swings it upwardly using the end edge 21 of the projecting end of the upper flange 20 as a fulcrum against the top surface of the lid, as shown in phantom lines in FIGURE 3. In this manner the nail 24 is easily pulled from the front wall 26 and the lid 12 of the box since the bar 10 acts like a one-armed lever. It is now a simple matter to tear the rest of the cellophane cover and any seals that may be applied over the lid and the front wall of the box, such as shown at 33. Getting a firm hold of the bar 10", one merely guides the sharp wire 32 along the interstice between the front edge of the lid and the top edge of the front wall of the box to the opposite side of the box,

cutting any seals and the front portions of the cellophane cover in the process. Once the front portion of the cellophane cover is torn, it is' easy to tear its side portions and remove the cover from the box. Since the wire is preferably anchored in the side wall 36- a distance rearwardly removed from the front wall of the box, the final phase in the described cover-tearing operation will partially lift the lid of the box.

The described box opening device is of a simple and inexpensive construction. It may readily be applied to the box as a permanent fixture thereof without changing its shape or compass. It is easy to manipulate and will open a box without any danger of damaging its contents.

While I have explained my invention with the aid of an exemplary embodiment thereof, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific constructional details shown and.described by way of example which may be departed from, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

Wherever I use the term string in the appended claims, this term is to be understood as including wires and cords.

I claim:

1. A box opening device for boxes having nailed-down lids and protective envelopes comprising an angle bar having first and second flanges disposed at right angle to each other, said first flange being arranged to project beyond said second flange at one end of said bar to enable use of the bar as a prying lever against the lid of a box for withdrawing a nail driven through said projecting end and the lid and said second flange having an end thereof bent out of its plane to form a tearing edge against which an envelope may be broken.

2. A box opening device having nailed-down lids and protective envelopes comprising an angle bar having first and second flanges disposed at right angles to each other, said first flange being arranged to project beyond said second flange at one end of said bar to enable use of the bar as a prying lever against the lid of a box for withdrawing a nail driven through said projecting end and the lid and said second flange being arranged to project beyond said first flange at the opposite end of said bar and having its projecting end portion bent out of the plane of said second flange to form a tearing edge against which an envelope may be broken.

3. A box opening device for boxes having nailed-down lids and protective envelopes comprising an angle bar having a horizontally disposed flange and a vertically disposed flange said horizontally disposed flange being arranged to project beyond said vertically disposed flange at one end of said bar and having in its projecting end portion an aperture for the reception of a nail to be driven through the lid of the box and said vertically disposed flange being arranged to project beyond said horizontally disposed flange at the opposite end of said bar and having its projecting end portion bent out of the plane defined by said vertically disposed flange to form a tearing edge over which an envelope may be broken, and a string attached to the projecting end portion of said horizontally disposed flange near the end edge thereof for tearing the envelope lengthwise with the angle bar serving as a handle.

4. A box comprising walls and a lid an envelope encasing said lid and said Walls, an angle bar underneath said envelope having a first flange overlying said lid and a second flange disposed adjacent an edge of said lid,

,one end of said first flange being arranged to project beyond said second flange at one end of said bar, a nail driven through said projecting flange end and said lid into a wall of said box to hold the lid in closed condition in a manner enabling withdrawal of said nail by use of said angle bar as a prying lever against said lid, said second flange having an end thereof bent outwardly away from the edge of said lid to form a tearing edge over which said envelope may be broken.

5. A box comprising walls and a lid, an envelope encasing said walls and said lid, an angle bar underneath said envelope having a first flange overlying the top surface of said lid and a second flange disposed adjacent an edge of said lid, said first flange being arranged to project beyond said second flange at one end of said bar, and a nail driven through said projecting flange end and said lid into a wall of the box to hold the lid in closed position in a manner enabling withdrawal of said nail by use of said angle bar as a prying lever, said second flange having an end edge thereof turned outwardly away from the edge of the lid to form a tearing edge over which said envelope may be broken, a string having one end thereof tied to said bar, said string being trained around an edge of said lid and arranged to pass through the interior of the box to an opposite edge of said lid and having its opposite end secured to a wall of the box adjacent said opposite edge of the lid, whereby the envelope may be torn along the front edge of the lid.

6. A box comprising a front wall and a lid, an envelope encasing said front wall and said lid, an angle bar underneath said envelope having a horizontally disposed flange overlying the top surface of said lid and a vertically disposed flange adjacent the front edge of said lid, said horizontal flange being arranged to project beyond said vertical flange at one end of said bar and having an aperture in said projecting end portion, a nail driven through said aperture and said lid into said front wall to hold the lid in closed condition in a manner enabling withdrawal of said nail by use of said angle bar as a prying lever, said vertically dis-posed flange being arranged to project beyond said horizontal flange at the opposite end of said bar and having its projecting end turned away from the front edge of said lid to form a tearing edge over which said envelope may be broken, and a string having one end attached to the projecting end portion of said horizontally disposed flange, said string being trained around one side edge of said lid and arranged to pass through the interior of said lid to the opposite side edge thereof and having its opposite end attached to the side wall of said box adjacent said opposite side edge of the lid at a point rearwardly removed from the front of said lid, whereby said envelope may be torn along the front edge of said lid, with said angle bar serving as a handle.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 668,018 2/1901 Popper 217-57 1,107,746 8/1914 Bauer 229-45 1,139,490 5/1915 Clary et al. 229-45 1,381,831 6/1921 Hceren 229-51 1,734,378 11/ 1929 Hildebrandt 220-49 1,843,806 2/1932 Compton 220-48 RAPHAEL L. SCHWARTZ, Examiner. THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner. 

5. A BOX COMPRISING WALLS AND A LID, AN ENVELOPE ENCASING SAID WALLS AND SAID LID, AN ANGLE BAR UNDERNEATH SAID ENVELOPE HAVING A FIRST FLANGE OVERLYING THE TOP SURFACE OF SAID LID AND A SECOND FLANGE DISPOSED ADJACENT AN EDGE OF SAID LID, SAID FIRST FLANGE BEING ARRANGED TO PROJECT BEYOND SAID SECOND FLANGE AT ONE END OF SAID BAR, AND A NAIL DRIVEN THROUGH SAID PROJECTING FLANGE END AND SAID LID INTO A WALL OF THE BOX TO HOLD THE LID IN CLOSED POSITION IN A MANNER ENABLING WITHDRAWAL OF SAID NAIL BY USE OF SAID ANGLE BAR AS A PRYING LEVER, SAID SECOND FLANGE HAVING AN END EDGE THEREOF TURNED OUTWARDLY AWAY FROM THE EDGE OF THE LID TO FORM A TEARING EDGE OVER WHICH SAID ENVELOPE MAY BE BROKEN, A STRING HAVING ONE END THEREOF TIED TO SAID BAR, SAID STRING BEING TRAINED AROUND AN EDGE OF SAID LID AND ARRANGED TO PASS THROUGH THE INTERIOR OF THE BOX TO AN OPPOSITE EDGE OF SAID LID AND HAVING ITS OPPOSITE END SECURED TO A WALL OF THE BOX ADJACENT SAID OPPOSITE EDGE OF THE LID, WHEREBY THE ENVELOPE MAY BE TORN ALONG THE FRONT EDGE OF THE LID. 